Onam, the biggest festival of Kerala is around the corner. People start worrying about the important items that makes Onam special. These are Puthar(rice), plantains, vegetables and of course new clothes. This worry is not new, it used to be there every year, at least ever since I have started realizing the importance of Onam.
Recently, I was browsing through my facebook news feed and one post caught my attention. The post written in Malayalam laments the likely shortage of rice in Kerala during Onam season. Rice is the main staple food of Keralites and an Onasadhya (feast) without rice is unimaginable for Keralites hence the hidden sarcasm by raising the chapathi ( a wheat product based staple) bandwagon.
During my childhood, wheat was only sold through the government run ration shops in Kerala. Wheat used to be a substitute for rice when rice is in short supply. Keralites were not equipped or trained on how to make good food out of wheat which may be the reason why keralites disliked wheat during those days. The general perception was those who buy food grains from ration shops are considered to be poor. I could not make out why it is so but after a few visits to the ration shops in my village gave me the impression that it could be because of thHhe poor quality of grains sold through the ration shops.
My family was not included among those who could get rice or wheat from ration shops. In the eyes of the government, we were farmers who cultivated enough paddy for us thus no food grain entitlement. Ration cards were merely for 1 kilogram of sugar which rarely reached the card holders. Sugar and kerosene were always diverted to the black market. One has
to make several rounds to the ration shop to be lucky to get their quota of sugar and kerosene. "Out of stock" used to be the standard message on the black stock board written with chalk. Kerosene was critical for light as there were no electricity in our village during those days.
The government also rated my father in the category of farmers on whom a levy was imposed on our paddy produce. A levy is a rule wherein the farmers are mandated to give a fixed amount of paddy produced per acre of land cultivated to the government. I do not recollect whether the government paid any price for it, I believe they did not as this was a kind of tax on the farmers. Virtually, the farmers had to pay levy to the Government and rent to the landlord which already is huge. The rent to landlord was set based on the notional yield and the farmer is bound to give the same quantity irrespective of how much was produced. All our land used to be rain fed and therefore in seasons of low rains or other crop damages, the farmers were left with very little after paying the levy and rent.
Coming back to the subject of how rice is important during Onam, I thought of reflecting my childhood memories. Onam falls during the Malayalam Calendar month 'Chingham' which typically falls between August and September. Onam, is the biggest festival of Keralites. It is a ten day long festival. On thiruvonam day, Keralites welcomes their Asura Chakravarthy (emperor) Maveli who was unseated by Vamana and send to Pathala(underground) to please the Devas. The belief is that Maveli requested Vamana permission to return to his ousted kingdom and meet his erstwhile subjects. Under the regime of Maveli, Kerala was prosperous, there were no crime or corruption and his subjects were prosperous and happy. Keralites wants to give the same feel of prosperity and happiness when their beloved chakravorty returns on his annual visit,hence the festivities.
Onam is also celebrated as the harvest festival in Kerala. Farmers in Kerala strive hard to ensure at least a portion of their paddy is harvested well before Onam. Puthari (rice from the new harvest) is auspicious in the Onam feast. Those whose paddy is not ripe for harvesting before Onam, they barter something else for Puthari. Not ready for harvest is not regarded as a good omen by farmers. However, this situation was not uncommon as agriculture used to be completely weather dependent and harvest can be delayed due to late sowing of paddy. The farmers employ multiple strategy to avoid a delayed harvest. We used to sow paddy of different varieties, a combination of seeds based on length of time to harvest, dry and wet farming etc. Modan, a black colored skin, is a variety of paddy usually targeted for harvest before Onam. This variety of paddy is good for dry lands and was usually cultivated in hilly areas. The land used for this is not cultivated every year. As far as I recollect, there were five locations we used to cultivate this variety of Paddy and each site get its turn once in five years. The other four years this land is left uncultivated to get fertile for next turn. All farmers will have their earmarked portion in each location. Preparation for sowing Modan starts in December time frame. Land is ploughed(tilled) thoroughly in December. Another round of ploughing takes place if summer rain is received. My father used to tell us that ploughing the land in summer reduces weeds. Weed grass roots are picked and burned. Dry leaves is spread and burnt as well. The ashes of leaves is good fertilizer for paddy. Actual sowing starts in April -May and is ready for harvesting in August, well before Onam.
I wrote this story how farmers ensured rice in their in their Onasadhya(feast). They were not lamenting in social media and waiting for rice from Andhra and Vegetable from Tamil Nadu to arrive. Tireless efforts ensured Puthari for the farmers and others during Onam. Today the situation is alarming in Kerala. Cultivable land is significantly reduced by converting it into commercial, residential and plantation use. The remaining farms are either converted into cash crops or left uncultivated. Land which were used to cultivate 3 seasons in a year is hardly cultivated once year. This is a national wastage and shame. The un-farmer friendly rules of the government and rising cost of cultivation is forcing farmers to leave their land uncultivated. So, there is no wonder if Keralites are forced to substitute chapati in place of rice in their Onasadhya.
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